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Captain Wentworth caused Louisa's accident...?

Controversial opinion but stay with me.

"..yours is the character of decision and firmness... It is the worst evil of too yielding and indecisive a character, that no influence over it can be depended on... Let those who would be happy be firm... My first wish for all whom I am interested in, is that they should be firm. If Louisa Musgrove would be beautiful and happy in her November of life, she will cherish all her present powers of mind.”

- Jane Austen, Persuasion C10

Captain Wentworth is still angry with Anne, so much so that he teaches Louisa to be "obstinate," with disastrous results. He thinks Anne was too persuadable in ending their engagement but when he describes his ideal woman (“a strong mind, with sweetness of manner”) she is "not out of his thoughts" yet he is unaware that he is describing her.

The reader can trace a direct line from the conversation between Captain Wentworth and Louise in the Hedgerow, his jumping her down stiles to his jumping her down the stairs at Lyme. The visit itself comes about because Louisa "armed with the idea of merit in maintaining her own way" wears down her parents. She's a young woman, excited at the dashing Captain's attention, his unthinking words and actions encouraged her to her accident.

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Video and audio from 1995 Persuasion

I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I thought I knew the story, but this peppers in so much more detail that I didn’t even know I wanted. I definitely found myself throughout the original four books wondering Edward’s thoughts and perspective on things and this was a satisfying delivery. In the sixth installment in the Twilight Saga, Meyer takes the reader through the events of the first novel, Twilight, through the eyes of Edward. For the first time the reader is able to hear Edward’s thoughts, experience the events that Bella was not present for, and hear the conversations among the Cullen coven. Additionally, the reader is given a behind the scenes view of Edward’s mind reading ability in live action throughout the novel. Via his gift of mind reading, Edward offers the reader new insight on familiar characters from the mundane school drama of Mike and Jessica to the sinister thoughts of James and Laurent. Though Edward and his family’s backstories are told to Bella in the original book, the reader is treated to a much more thorough account of that past and a deeper dive into the early days of Carlisle’s coven.

I was a big fan of the Twilight series (books and movies, though a lot of the movies didn’t live up to my expectations) at the height of the Twihard fever days. I’ve never thought that the books were particularly well written but also not so poorly written that it really affected my ability to enjoy the events of the books. As I’ve grown older I do have to agree that the story is predatory and more than a little icky. A one-hundred-year old man in a seventeen-year old’s body is able to overcome his overwhelming bloodlust for a seventeen-year-old girl and they become obsessed with one another and fall in love? I mean its problematic. We can analyze and say that. But as in most fantasy novels I read, I do not find it so problematic that I am not able to see it for the fiction that it is and fall into step with enjoying the story.

I found the change of perspective refreshing. I enjoyed the new insight into Alice, Jasper, and Edward’s gifts and the history of Carlisle’s life. After reading this I am now craving more story that gives the proper time and attention to Esme. I feel like she is such a powerful character who shaped so much of Edward and the others in his coven but is not given nearly enough of the spotlight. I’d also very much like to see more of the Edward perspective during parts of Breaking Dawn and maybe even a little beyond. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and would undoubtedly read more in the Twilight series should Meyer indulge us.

★★★★☆

•WELCOME, FRIENDS• 

Hi I’m Emily and welcome to whatever this Instagram account ends up being (a booksta, a studygram, a public journal). I’m so excited to finally have created an instagram to pair with my Tumblr (studyingstuffwithem). Posting stuff like this on Tumblr started as a hobby but it eventually grew into something bigger than I imagined — now I just have to bring the audience from there to here. 

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march, 17

i'm so grateful this week has been sooo productive.

i've been able to weak up one hour early than the necessary in order to keep up with readings; in addition to that, i could study every single day and now i have a free day!

i'm just going to review notes for latin classes because it scares the hell out of me lol - but, of course, mainly rest so i can restore energy for the week.

in the picture, a reading for linguistics i had this week + black tea, my new bff.